South African life expectancy on the rise | Brand South Africa

September 5, 2017

Thanks to the world’s largest antiretroviral treatment programme, South Africans’ life expectancy is now 64 years, up from 53 years in 2006 and putting the country on track to achieve the National Development Plan goal of a 70-year life expectancy by 2030.Mary AlexanderSouth Africa now has a population of 56.5-million people, according to the 2017 mid-year population estimates by Statistics South Africa. The country’s population has increased by 902,200 over the past year.A key finding is that life expectancy is now 64 years. This is an extra decade of projected average lifespan since a decade ago. In 2006, women could expect to live to 54.7 years and men to just 52.3 years, with a population average of 53.5 years.The gain can be credited to the massive rollout of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy since 2006, according to Stats SA. The country is on track to achieve the National Development Plan goal of …READ MORE ON BRANDSOUTHAFRICA.COM